Sony plans to end production of new game discs for PlayStation in January 2028, and the move keeps drawing reactions from inside the industry. The loudest one right now comes from former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden, who says the decision could cost the brand more than it saves. If you follow the platform closely, you’ll find all our coverage in the PlayStation news hub.
What Layden actually said
Speaking on The Expansion Pass podcast, Layden made clear he has no visibility into Sony’s financials at the time the call was made – and that he still disagrees with it. His argument isn’t that most players prefer digital. He accepts that they do. His problem is that Sony, in his view, is underestimating how much the remaining physical audience matters.
“We are an inquisitive collecting sort of people, and we like to show off our stuff. So I think for those reasons I don’t agree with that decision,” he said. “If you can’t sell a thing, that means you don’t own a thing. And if you don’t own it, then what are you buying? If you’re buying access, that doesn’t quite sound as sexy, to be honest. And people, as people tend to do, in their mind they’ll game out the worst case scenario.”
He also described the fallout in blunt terms: “And that’s a whole lot of brand hit and reputation bite that – as I said, I don’t have any visibility on the financials around it – but that’s a significant brand hit, and I hope it made sense to them.”
80% digital, 20% “super important”
Layden doesn’t dispute the convenience side at all. With downloads you don’t drive anywhere, you don’t wait for a package, and you don’t even have to get off the couch to swap a disc. By his own estimate, roughly 80% of players download their games while about 20% still buy physical PS5 copies – and he calls that 20% a “super important” group.
That group includes dedicated collectors who buy multiple copies of the same game, keeping one sealed while playing another, the same mentality you see with comic book collecting. It’s also the group that keeps the secondhand market alive, which is why pricing on used hardware and software still makes headlines – see our piece on used PS5 Pro pricing.
Ownership vs. access
The deeper point Layden raises is what “owning” a game means once discs are gone. A physical copy can be sold, traded, lent out, or just sit on a shelf forever. Go fully digital and the question shifts to whether you own a game or simply have access to a digital asset. Layden believes players will naturally start imagining the worst case – losing that access – and he notes that PlayStation has removed items from digital libraries before. The same access-based thinking sits behind subscriptions like PlayStation Plus, whose official page covers what the service includes.
Layden has previously called the plan “fairly dramatic” and said the all-digital idea came up repeatedly during his years at the company. He also accepts that Sony almost certainly crunched the numbers on producing and distributing discs against how many people actually buy them. His worry is what gets traded away: PlayStation can save money on the road to an all-digital PS6 and beyond, but he thinks the physical crowd is worth more than its share of sales suggests.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes today – the cutoff concerns production of new discs starting in January 2028.
- If you collect physical releases, the window for buying new PlayStation games on disc is finite.
- If you already buy digital, your habits are what the shift is built around.
Where to go next: we also track the store side of the platform in our article on PS Store wallet credit, and if you’re still picking a console, there’s our PS5 vs Xbox Series X comparison.
FAQ
Sony plans to end new disc production in January 2028, affecting physical discs for new PlayStation releases from that point on.
He’s the former head of PlayStation, and he has commented on Sony’s disc plans several times, including when the company first announced them.
He thinks Sony is underestimating the smaller group of players who still buy physical copies, and he argues that if you can’t sell a game, you don’t really own it – you’re just buying access.
Layden estimates roughly 20% still buy physical PS5 copies while about 80% download, and he calls that 20% a “super important” group.
The announcement concerns disc production. Layden’s concern is more general: he notes PlayStation has removed items from digital libraries in the past, which is why players worry about losing access.